Thanks to Xiao P for sourcing this rarity from Taiwan & the photos!

Cédric Bouchard ‘Roses de Jeanne’ La Bolorée 2005 Brut Blanc de Blancs

Pinot Blanc Champagne (750ml)

*100% Pinot Blanc planted in 1960 @ a 0.21-hectare, south-facing, pure chalk lieu-dit called 'La Bolorée' in Aube;

*production per vintage: 800 – 1,000 bottles;

*minimalist wine-making: no chaptalization, no fining, no filtering, no cold stabilization, no wood & no dosage, natural malo.

*inaugural vintage 2005.

Pure Pinot Blanc Champagne is a rarity already. 40+ years old vines on pure chalk & in the hands of perfectionist grower & wine-maker Cédric Bouchard could only mean blessings. We are fortunate enough to secure a bottle of the inaugural vintage 2005 3 years ago (though we knew very little about the background info back then...)

Tasted in early May, 2013.

First served upon uncorking.

Very pale color, with silvery highlights. Ultra fine beads in vigorous effervescence.

Discreet nose of chalk dust gradually gains flinty intensity. With aeration, sleek, waxy aromas of magnolia, green melon & crystalline pear are leisurely revealed.

The palate is surprisingly lithe & delicate. There is neither overt ripeness that one could immediately associate with 2005, nor upfront richness from old vine fruit concentration. Instead, the hidden (or balanced) ripeness & richness contribute to the wine's inner strength, quiet vinosity & remarkable length. The overall impression is of breathtaking purity & intellectually demanding subtlety. Sleekly sensual, richly fragrant. Complete & seamless. Totally harmonious. The white flowers & white fruits beautifully wrap up the chalky minerality, hiding all incisive edges while letting out merely a trace of stony clarity towards the very end of resonant aftertaste. And there is not a single trace of oxidation for this non-dose Champagne, which has had close to 4 years' post-disgorgement aging. That tells the substance & balance!

While it feels quite unreal, it quietly grows upon you & demands an intimate, intellectual dialogue.

A unique Champagne of its own class! 

If you would agree that Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Francaises (ungrafted Pinot Noir) is a beautiful beast, you will find out Roses de Jeanne La Bolorée (old vine Pinot Blanc) as an angel! (But the problem is to find it...)

The latest release of La Bolorée, the awesome 2008 vintage, is now in distribution. Those lucky few who manage to secure it shall never regret!